Becoming Steve Jobs audiobook cover - The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

Becoming Steve Jobs

The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli

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Categories:
Biography & MemoirCareer & Success

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Becoming Steve Jobs
Early Life & Apple's Genesis+
Rapid Rise & Tragic Fall+
Wilderness Years: NeXT & Pixar+
The Triumphant Return+
Revolutionizing Consumer Electronics+
Final Years & Legacy+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
What early life lesson from his adoptive father deeply influenced Steve Jobs's approach to product design?
  • A. The importance of writing efficient, bug-free software code.
  • B. The necessity of working as diligently on the unseen parts of a product, like the underside of a cabinet, as on its finish.
  • C. The value of mass-producing items quickly to dominate a new market.
  • D. The idea that technology should always be priced affordably for the working class.
Question 2 of 9
How did Apple secure the necessary capital and management to successfully launch the Apple II?
  • A. Steve Jobs sold his shares in another tech startup to self-fund the project.
  • B. They won a government grant for educational technology.
  • C. Angel investor Mike Markkula provided funding and hired Apple's first professional CEO.
  • D. They partnered with Hewlett-Packard to manufacture the computers at scale.
Question 3 of 9
What was the primary reason for Steve Jobs's forced exile from Apple in 1985?
  • A. He was caught selling company secrets to rival Microsoft.
  • B. He refused to step down as CEO when the board demanded it.
  • C. He wanted to leave Apple to pursue a career in 3D animation.
  • D. A string of commercial failures, including the Apple III, the Lisa, and the under-powered Macintosh.
Question 4 of 9
What did the failure of the NeXT computer demonstrate about Steve Jobs's tendencies at the time?
  • A. He was so driven by innovation that he ignored necessary trade-offs, resulting in a massively overpriced product.
  • B. He was too focused on corporate clients and completely ignored the higher-education market.
  • C. He compromised too much on design in order to keep manufacturing costs low.
  • D. He relied too heavily on outside developers to create software for the system.
Question 5 of 9
How did Steve Jobs's experience at Pixar influence his leadership style?
  • A. It taught him how to ruthlessly negotiate licensing deals with major studios.
  • B. It showed him the importance of micromanaging creative teams to ensure perfection.
  • C. It taught him the value of stepping back and giving creative employees the freedom they needed.
  • D. It convinced him that software was inherently more profitable than hardware.
Question 6 of 9
What specific event led directly to Steve Jobs returning to Apple in 1996?
  • A. Apple's board fired John Sculley and begged Jobs to return.
  • B. Apple purchased NeXT to acquire its advanced operating system.
  • C. Jobs used his Pixar fortune to execute a hostile takeover of Apple.
  • D. Bill Gates invested in Apple on the condition that Jobs be reinstated.
Question 7 of 9
Upon returning to Apple, what was one of Jobs's first major strategic moves to save the sinking company?
  • A. He expanded the product line to compete directly with Microsoft's enterprise offerings.
  • B. He trimmed the company's focus down to just four basic computer models.
  • C. He immediately launched the iPhone to pivot the company toward mobile devices.
  • D. He made Apple's operating system open-source to attract more developers.
Question 8 of 9
According to the text, what move by Apple in November 2007 made the iPhone truly versatile and broke through its initial limitations?
  • A. Releasing a software-developer kit (SDK) that allowed outside developers to create apps.
  • B. Adding a physical, slide-out keyboard for business users.
  • C. Lowering the price of the iPhone to compete directly with the BlackBerry.
  • D. Introducing multi-touch screen technology to the public for the first time.
Question 9 of 9
Why did Steve Jobs choose to unveil the iPad while sitting comfortably on a couch in 2010?
  • A. To demonstrate that the iPad was entirely voice-controlled.
  • B. To mock the formal, stiff presentations usually given by Microsoft executives.
  • C. To show how the device brought computing intimately into the living room, a posture also necessitated by his declining health.
  • D. Because the device was too heavy to hold while standing for a long period.

Becoming Steve Jobs — Full Chapter Overview

Becoming Steve Jobs Summary & Overview

Becoming Steve Jobs (2015) tells the story of the life and work of this tech genius. These blinks offer an inside look at the history of Apple, chronicle Jobs’s personal development, explore his early successes, as well as his failures, and lay out how his drive and innovation gave birth to revolutionary products, such as the iPhone.

Who Should Listen to Becoming Steve Jobs?

  • Apple fans and admirers of Steve Jobs
  • Computer lovers everywhere
  • Business leaders seeking a better understanding of a historical entrepreneur

About the Author: Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli

Brent Schlender covered Steve Jobs for the Wall Street Journal and Fortune for over two decades. One of the main chroniclers of the personal-computer revolution, he interviewed Jobs on many occasions.

Rick Tetzeli has written about technology for more than twenty years. He’s currently executive director of Fast Company, the editor of Entertainment Weekly and the former deputy editor of Fortune.

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